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The cost of buying a farm

There are always farms for sale.  Large estates are rare (2,500 acres), one of the larger ones in Northumberland is on the market for about £ 7,200 per acre which is just about the average land price in that region.  down in Norfolk, the price is nearer £ 8,500 per acre.

While £18 million seems a fair amount of money, it also tells you everything you need to know about UK farming.  The UK average farm size is 85 acres, and the average US farm is 450 acres.  US farms are large because large-scale mechanisation makes farming more efficient.  

I mentioned before not only field-specific use of fertilizer applicators but now, it is possible to be even more surgical and tailor application to almost every meter of the farm.   The capital cost for most farmers is prohibitive because the owner/farmer is only one accident away from bankruptcy.  Granted the UK is not the US, but food security in the UK (and Europe too) has created a system that supports small farmers and stops them from going bankrupt with a series of subsidies that keep them just above the waterline.  Food prices in the UK are high, between 20% and 40% higher than in the US.  This is a real cost to the economy, and the only way to reduce these costs is to radically improve efficiency.  

The question is why was the land price demand by this large estate the area's average.  Two reasons, (1) £ 18 million is a lot of money so the number of potential buyers is limited, (2) the real reason is that the events around Wales (SFS) are certain to spill over in neighbouring Northumberland, reducing the land value until things are settled.  

Good monday

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